Back in school at age 47, he’s part of an influx of older students enrolled in local community colleges to learn new skills they hope will land them work in a recovering economy.

With jobs scarce and a daughter to care for, he’s sharing the classroom with 18-year-olds to master course work in environmental studies, with the goal of helping businesses comply with energy conservation measures.

“I’m not a book person; I’m hands-on. I thought I’d always be a construction worker,” said Bjerke, who attends De Anza Community College in Cupertino.

“But we’re not building roads and bridges,” he said. “So I’m learning how to study.”

Workers historically flock to college during recessions, accumulating credits while waiting out a lousy job market. Community colleges are especially popular, because they offer low-cost, open-access education.

During this recession, there is an emerging sense that the new economy won’t resemble the old one — and that the best jobs will require focused retraining.

Unemployment for middle-aged workers is the highest it’s been since data was first collected 60 years ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2008, laid-off people over 45 were out of work 22.2 weeks, vs. 16.2 weeks for younger workers.

This fall’s enrollment is up 16 percent over last fall at the West Valley-Mission Community College District, which has campuses in Saratoga and Santa Clara. And the average student age has risen to about 30, said chancellor John Hendrickson. Other Silicon Valley community campuses also are reporting a boost in enrollment, although final data will not be tallied until mid-October.

“The time is right to train workers to hit the ground running once the recovery is under way,” said Aimee Chitayat of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development, an Oakland-based national research and legal organization.

Late at night, often sharing a table with their own children, these older students hit the books. Many say their reading, writing and arithmetic skills are rusty; others admit that this is the first time they’ve focused on academics.

But they bring extra motivation to the classroom. “I’m Steady Eddie. A person like me is on time, ready to go,” Bjerke said. “Some of the young kids — they show up late, don’t bring a pencil, don’t do their homework.”

Rena Merritt, 34, a mother of five, came to DeAnza for retraining after moving from Nebraska, where she had worked on a meat-packaging assembly line.

“It was pretty hard. I had to juggle things, sometimes studying after everyone went to bed,” she said.

DeAnza’s Occupational Training Institute, which helps unemployed people re-enter the work force quickly, served 250 students last year; now 300 are enrolled, including Bjerke.

“When people lose their unemployment insurance, they end up applying for welfare. We’re seeing an increase in students coming to us with those types of backgrounds,” said Daniel Dishno, director of the institute.

Hundreds of other students, many already holding four-year degrees but laid off by shrinking tech firms, are taking advantage of offers from their former employers to pay for a year’s worth of retraining classes.

“It’s the perfect storm: I was laid off, I have time and it is something I always wanted to do,” said Taylor Winship, 59, a former project manager at IBM who is studying at West Valley College to become an interior designer.

Increased federal aid should accelerate the trend. The $787 billion economic stimulus bill includes $1.7 billion for adult employment services, including training, for people who have lost their jobs.

No one knows if it will pay off; job retraining is ineffective without job creation.

But students are taking a practical approach for when the economy rebounds. Most are seeking additional skills and one-year certification programs, not necessarily degrees, said Danny Nguyen, dean of Workforce Education at Mission College.

Schools say their greatest growth is in business and management programs and health care. Also popular are emerging fields such as electronic commerce and digital media.

For Merritt, an education transformed her life. Her previous job, making bacon and sausage, was low-wage, tough on the family and physically demanding. “On the line, you’re working your fingers eight hours a day. You’re on your feet all the time.”

At De Anza, she studied computers and landed a job at Santa Clara-based E-Tech Silicon Valley, which provides computer repair services, network installation and on-site support.

“I find myself eager to come back to work the next day. I like to talk with customers, seeing where we need to grow. And my kids are very proud.”

Lisa M. Krieger is a science writer at The Mercury News, covering research, scientific policy and environmental news from Stanford University, the University of California, NASA-Ames, U.S. Geological Survey and other Bay Area-based research facilities. Lisa also contributes to the Videography team. She graduated from Duke University with a degree in biology. Outside of work, she enjoys photography, backpacking, swimming and bird-watching.

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